Rebels set to exceed expectations
With the start of the 2015-16 college basketball season just days away, national pundits have begun projecting this year's NCAA Tournament field. The one name missing from all of these is the UNLV Runnin' Rebels.
The real question is - what does this mean?
Those closest to the program believe that this is the season where the stars could align and the Rebels have their best year under head coach Dave Rice. Obviously, those sentiments are only coming from people in Las Vegas because UNLV is getting little to no respect.
When you watch this group up close, it definitely looks like the making of a special year. The pieces are in place to not only be good, but possibly better than that.
So, why is nobody penciling in the Rebels for a spot in the Big Dance? It may have something to do with the previous two seasons when Rice failed to get talented squads to the postseason. For one reason or another, UNLV has failed to live up to preseason hype and play together as a unit.
If the experts are correct, this may end up being one of the more depressing years in recent memory.
The good news is that Rice can use this lack of respect to fuel an already motivated team. It could pull them even closer together than they already are, which by all accounts is the most unified group Rice has coached since his first season.
UNLV will get ample opportunities in the non-conference to set the record straight. Beginning with UCLA (No. 10 seed) in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational first round, the Rebels can start building their resume.
Win that game and UNLV will get a shot a, quite possibly, the nation's best team - Kansas - on national television.
Road games against highly regarded teams Arizona (No. 2 seed) and WIchita State (No. 3 seed) would be huge victories when the committee starts to break down the field in March. A "neutral" court game at the MGM Grand Arena versus Oregon (No. 5 seed) is scheduled for the first week of December.
It's truly do or die time for this team and program. And it always is a little bit sweeter when no one sees it coming. Rice hasn't begun a season as a true underdog for a long time. With previous talented rosters, most just assumed that UNLV would be dancing on "Selection Sunday" before writing the Rebels off as a disappointment.
This year UNLV could be the team that comes out of nowhere and is a national surprise. The talent, experience, athleticism, depth, and mindset are in place to do just that, beginning Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center against Cal Poly.
We've seen Rice's squads flounder under heavy expectations in the past. Let's see if this one can exceed what most think it's capable of.
Whatever the case, the 2015-16 season is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing in recent past as Rice and Co. attempt to prove everyone wrong.
For more in-depth information, analysis and discussion, be sure to check out Rebel-Confidential.
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